LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ — I Feel a Song Coming On: The Life of Jimmy McHugh by Alyn Shipton is the first biography of this remarkable composer. Available October 5 from the University of Illinois Press, the book will be launched in New York with a Michael Feinstein Zankel Hall concert at Carnegie Hall and a performance/booksigning event at Barnes & Noble.

Writing such classics as “I’m in the Mood for Love,” “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” McHugh is a one-man history of twentieth-century popular music. His career stretches from Tin Pan Alley to Harlem’s Cotton Club and from Broadway to Hollywood. McHugh’s music has been performed by Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Rod Stewart, and k.d. lang.

David Friend from Vanity Fair says, “From Tin Pan Alley to Beverly Hills, this book has vintage dish and vibrant back-stories about one of the giants of the American songbook.”

Michael Feinstein adds, “This book…spills over with fascinating and important information about a rich and seminal era, much of which has been previously documented. If you care about the Great American Songbook, you’ll love this book!”

Alyn Shipton is a jazz critic for the Times of London and a BBC Radio presenter. His books include A New History of Jazz and biographies of Fats Waller and Dizzy Gillespie.